Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1887-04-13
THE SUNNY SOUTH.

| This week l.. E.. Pearce tells o
more of the interesting points VISITED
during his recent trip. His secone
| letter is as follows:
From Mobile, l went over u
Pensacola, Florida. This place is al
| the southwestern extremity of the
state and Is the seaport for thai
| section. Like the rest of Florida
| twas settled by the Spaniards and
the state was not coded to the u. 3
till 1881. The place was nearly de-
stroyed by the civil war, but is nice
town now, and is the chief seaport on
the gulf coast east of Mobile. The
Apache chief, Geronimo, who was
captured by Gen. Miles i'll New
Mexico is confined on Santa Rosa,
Island, at the entrance to the harbor.
From this place l went over to
Thomasvllle, Ga. Here L got my
first mail from home and it was a
great treat to get news from the North
Star State, even ifan occasional biz
zard was reported. Here | found DIR.
Sutherland and family located for
the winter aud they seemed to be en-
ljoying themselves fright smart" as
the Southerners would say. DR.. was
hunting cartridges for his chlei
amusement and enjoyed strolling OIL
about the county. enjoyed trip OF
two with HIM, brownsville is nice
inland town. 1t has two large hotels,
such AS we lind at our fashionable
watering places, (The Mitchell House
and the Piny Woods HoteN. They
are great resorts for invalids from the
North during the winter. The town
is situated on gently rolling ground,
sandy, rs in most parts of the South
They have five or six thousand III
hahitants and no sidewalks i'll town.
IT'S so sandy that walks are dry even
when its raining. The school prlVl-
leges are good, there being n college
tor boys and one for girls also. They
nave direct Idlliot'N SOAAAN
| with Atlanta and the North, New
Orleans and the West, and Jackson
Vile and Savannah on the Fast. l
staid here six days and then went
over to Jacksonville, Florida.
Here / found oranges on the trees
| for the first time and as l passed up
the st. Johns river found oranges
more plentiful, as the upper st. John
country is the cream of the orange
belt in Florida. The trees were IN
iured more or less by freezing one
year ago last winter, and many trees
were killed to the roots. Here again
YOU find the Live Oak and Cypress
heavily covered with moss. Even
| in the city the moss is swinging
from the shade trees, and it always
makes things seem damp and dismal.
7 went ND the st. Johns to PalatKl
and found quite stirring town, Win
a little more than the average amount
of sand. Saw great many orange
groves along the river and ut this
time there were many oranges on the
trees. There are a great many North
ern people here and much enterprise
is shown. Trade is over done, and l
do not think it as pleasant place IN
which to spend the winter as ST.
Augustine, brownsville, Pensacola
and Mobile. Here I saw something
had never seen before lie, cattle feed
ing in the water. Along the st. Johns
as the tide comes in, it covers most OF
the grass growing along the river
and cattle will be seen feeding IN
water two feet deep. 1t was novel
sight to me. This point is hcadquar-
tiers for northerners to come and then
| thew scatter to different parts, south
| and southwest into the orange coun-
| try. Mrs. Alexandria Mitchell, wife
| of the President of the G. NJ. & St
| P. Ry. has winter residence across
and up the St. Johns river from
Jacksonville and learn since my re-
| turn that our toWnsman, Maj. Van
IValkenburg, has brother at this
place, who is one of The judges of the
supreme court of Florida.